Electronic device and method for operating the same

ABSTRACT

A method for processing image captured by an image sensor is provided. The operation method of an electronic device according to the present disclosure includes receiving a sensing image having a sensor pattern of an image sensor and meta-information including sensing image information related to the sensing image and storing the sensing image and the sensing image information including the meta-information.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119(a) of a Koreanpatent application filed on Apr. 19, 2013 in the Korean IntellectualProperty Office and assigned Serial number 10-2013-0043851, the entiredisclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to image processing. More particularly,the present disclosure relates to a method for processing image capturedby an image sensor.

BACKGROUND

Electronic devices having communication functions and that are easilyportable are increasingly popular. The electronic devices are advancingat a rapid pace in line with the development of hardware and softwaretechnologies capable of providing various contents, particularlycollecting and processing images.

Accordingly, an electronic device and method for operating theelectronic device that are capable of storing and processing imagesefficiently is desired.

The above information is presented as background information only toassist with an understanding of the present disclosure. No determinationhas been made, and no assertion is made, as to whether any of the abovemight be applicable as prior art with regard to the present disclosure.

SUMMARY

Aspects of the present disclosure are to address at least theabove-mentioned problems and/or disadvantages and to provide at leastthe advantages described below. Accordingly, an aspect of the presentdisclosure is to provide an electronic device and method for operatingthe electronic device that are capable of storing and processing imagesefficiently.

In accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure, an operationmethod of an electronic device is provided. The operation methodincludes receiving a sensing image having a sensor pattern of an imagesensor and meta-information including sensing image information relatedto the sensing image and storing the sensing image and the sensing imageinformation including the meta-information.

In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, anoperation method of an electronic device is provided. The operationmethod includes detecting an event selecting a sensor information imageincluding a sensing image having a sensor pattern of an image sensor andmeta-information including information related to the sensing image,generating an output-mapping image to be output to a display unit basedon the mapping information which maps the sensor pattern of the imagesensor to a pattern of the display unit according to the selection eventand the meta-information, and displaying the generated output-mappingimage on the display unit.

In accordance with still another aspect of the present disclosure, anelectronic device is provided. The electronic device includes an imagesensor configured to capture a sensing image, at least one of an inputunit and a display unit which generates an input event for capturing thesensing image, a control unit configured to store a first type imagehaving a format identical with that of a sensor pattern of the imagesensor and a second type image having a format different from that ofthe sensor pattern of the image sensor, and a storage configured tostore a composite image including a header containing propertyinformation defining the first and second type images, the first typeimage, and the second type image.

Other aspects, advantages, and salient features of the disclosure willbecome apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detaileddescription, which, taken in conjunction with the annexed drawings,discloses various embodiments of the present disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other aspects, features, and advantages of certainembodiments of the present disclosure will be more apparent from thefollowing description taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an electronic device, e.g.terminal, supporting image processing according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating detailed configurations of thecontrol unit and the storage unit of FIG. 1 according to an embodimentof the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an information mapping operationaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of a sensing image in animage processing method of an electronic device according to anembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a sensing image output procedure ofan image processing method of an electronic device according to anembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating configurations of a control unitand a storage unit of an electronic device according to anotherembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a detailed data structure of acomposite image according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of storing a compositeimage in an image processing method of an electronic device according toan embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a composite image output procedure ofan image processing method of an electronic device according to anembodiment of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an electronic device control methodaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

The same reference numerals are used to represent the same elementsthroughout the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description with reference to the accompanying drawings isprovided to assist in a comprehensive understanding of variousembodiments of the present disclosure as defined by the claims and theirequivalents. It includes various specific details to assist in thatunderstanding but these are to be regarded as merely exemplary.Accordingly, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize thatvarious changes and modifications of the various embodiments describedherein can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of thepresent disclosure. In addition, descriptions of well-known functionsand constructions may be omitted for clarity and conciseness.

The terms and words used in the following description and claims are notlimited to the bibliographical meanings, but, are merely used by theinventor to enable a clear and consistent understanding of the presentdisclosure. Accordingly, it should be apparent to those skilled in theart that the following description of various embodiments of the presentdisclosure is provided for illustration purpose only and not for thepurpose of limiting the present disclosure as defined by the appendedclaims and their equivalents.

It is to be understood that the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the”include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.Thus, for example, reference to “a component surface” includes referenceto one or more of such surfaces.

For the same reason, some of elements are exaggerated, omitted orsimplified in the drawings and the elements may have sizes and/or shapesdifferent from those shown in drawings, in practice. The same referencenumbers are used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or likeparts.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an electronic device, e.g.terminal, supporting image processing according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 1, the terminal 100 of the present disclosure includesan image sensor 110, an input unit 120, a display unit 140, a storageunit 150, and a control unit 160, but is not limited thereto. Thedisplay unit 140 may be configured as an output device for outputtingimage generated in the electronic device. The terminal 100 also mayinclude a communication unit 170 having at least one communicationmodule supporting at least one of a short range communication functionand a cellular communication function. The terminal 100 may furtherinclude a connection interface 130 supporting connection of an externaldisplay device. The terminal 100 may further includes an audioprocessing unit for outputting communicated audio signal, stored audiosignal, and collected audio signal.

The above-structured terminal 100 may store the shooting conditioninformation of the image sensor 110 as meta-information together in theprocess of storing the image captured by the image sensor 110. If theterminal 100 is received an image selection signal, the terminal 100generates and displays an output mapping image based on themeta-information and the mapping information. For example, the mappinginformation is corresponding to pixel type or image type, and the pixeltype or image type is determined depending on the hardware configurationof the display unit 140, e.g. the pixel type or image type correspondsto Bayer pattern. The terminal 100 is capable of generating theoutput-mapping image from the sensing image (e.g., Raw Image) using themapping information and the meta-information without extra decodingprocess in the stored sensing image information output procedure. Forexample, the terminal 100 may convert the Red, Green, and Blue (RGB)type sensing image provided by the image sensor 110 into the same RGBtype output mapping image. Accordingly, the terminal 100 is capable ofsimplifying the image output function by negating the decoding processrequired in the image output procedure.

The image sensor 110 is capable of acquiring images of variousresolutions according to the hardware characteristics. For example, ifthe image sensor 110 acquired an image of resolution of 8 Mega Pixel(MP), the terminal 100 may store the 8 MP resolution sensing image andthe sensing image information 153 including the meta-information in thestorage unit 150. If the terminal 100 is received a request fordisplaying the image corresponding to the stored high resolution (e.g.,8 MP) sensing image, the control unit 160 adjusts the scale of the imageto generate an output-mapping image, e.g. 4 MP resolution image. In thisprocedure, the control unit 160 performs image conversion based on thepredefined mapping information to be used for converting from thesensing image of high resolution into a proper output-mapping image andthe meta-information corresponding to the shooting condition informationat the time. The mapping information may be formed in various typesaccording to the resolution or hardware characteristics of the displayunit 140.

The image sensor 110 is a device for acquiring and capturing images. Forexample, the image sensor 110 may be arranged in the form of a matrix ofa plurality of semiconductor devices. The resolution of the image sensor110 may be determined by the integration degree of a plurality ofsemiconductor devices arranged in the form of a matrix. The image sensor110 applied to the terminal 100 may be the device capable of acquiringand capturing the image of high resolution as compared to the imagedisplayed by the display unit 140. The image sensor 110 may include alens module, a housing containing the lens module, and an opticalconversion circuit for converting the light input through the lensmodule to a predetermined type of data. The image sensor 110 may providethe control unit 160 with a specific type of image such as RGB Bayerpattern image. The image sensor 110 also may provide the control unit160 a Red, Green, Blue, and White (RGBW) Bayer pattern image of asubject. In the following, the description is directed to the imageprocessing function in association with RGB type.

The input unit 120 is a component of generating various input signalsrelated to the operation of the terminal 100. The input unit 120 mayinclude at least one of hardware key or physical key on one side of theterminal 100. The input unit 120 may generate a turn-on/off signal,image sensor activation signal, and image capture signal. At least oneof the physical keys of the input unit 120 may be designed as a hot keyto directly activate the image sensor.

The input unit 120 may generates optical condition adjustment signals ofthe image sensor 110 in response to the control of the user. The opticalcondition adjustment signals may include the signal for adjusting atleast one environmental condition of the image sensor 110. For example,the optical condition adjustment signals may include a distanceadjustment signal, e.g. digital zoom-in/out, flash-on/off signal, imageeffect adjustment signal, shutter speed adjustment signal, InternationalOrganization for Standardization (ISO) adjustment signal or burst shotadjustment signal, and the like. The generated input signal from theinput unit 120 is transferred to the control unit 160. The display unit140 is implemented as an input means such as touchscreen, it may beconsidered as a part of the input unit 120 in view of generating theinput signal. The touchscreen-enabled display unit 140 is capable ofgenerating the aforementioned input signals to the control unit 160 inresponse to the touch gesture made thereon.

If an external display device is connected through the connectioninterface 130, the input unit 120 may generates a specific mappinginformation selection signal for supporting the external display device.If the external display device is connected through the connectioninterface 130, the control unit 160 checks the type of the externaldisplay device and automatically selects the optimal mapping informationaccording to the type of the external display device. If the controlunit 160 is not able to automatically select the optimal mappinginformation according to the certain external display device, thecontrol unit 160 may provide the external display device with a screenprompting to select mapping information for providing the externaldisplay device with the external output-mapping image. The user mayselect specific mapping information manually using the input unit 120 orinput function of the display unit 140.

The connection interface 130 may be the device supporting connection ofan external display device. For example, the connection interface 130may include a wire connection interface for cable connection with anexternal display device. The connection interface 130 may include awireless communication interface capable of allowing wireless datacommunication with the external device. The connection interface 130 maybe implemented with short range wireless communication modules as wellas the serial interface such as Universal Serial Bus (USB) and UniversalAsynchronous Receiver/Transmitter (UART). If an external display deviceis connected through the connection interface 130, the connectioninterface 130 generates a signal to the control unit 160 in associationwith the connection of the external display device.

The terminal 100 may support an external display device through theconnection interface 130. The terminal 100 may output the output-mappingimage generated based on the sensing image information 153 stored in thestorage unit 150 to the external display device as well as the displayunit 140. For example, the terminal 100 may output the output-mappingimage generated based on the sensing image information 153 to at leastone of the display unit 140 and the external display device.

The terminal 100 checks the display characteristics of the externaldisplay device and selects the mapping information corresponding to theexternal display device. The terminal 100 is capable of generatingexternal output-mapping image from the sensing image based on theselected mapping information and the meta-information of the sensingimage information 153. The terminal 100 may output the generatedexternal output-mapping image to the external display device. Theterminal uses the mapping information optimized for the external displaydevice among the various mapping information in output the sensing imageinformation 153 stored in the storage unit 150.

The external display device may be the device capable of being connectedto the terminal 100 through the connection interface 130. The externaldevice may establish at least one of wired and wireless communicationchannel with the terminal 100. The external display device may providethe external display device ID and/or Bayer pattern information to theterminal through the connection interface 130. The external displaydevice may receive the external output-mapping image optimized accordingto the information it has provided and display the externaloutput-mapping image. Examples of the external display device includeTelevision (TV) monitor, smart TV, tablet Personal Computer (PC), slatePC, panel-type or laptop PC, and other electronic device equipped with adisplay panel.

The display unit 140 may output various screens associated with theoperations of the terminal 100. For example, the display unit 140 maydisplay a menu screen, a widget screen, an icon screen, a standbyscreen, a gallery screen, a web connection screen, and the like. Thedisplay unit 140 may also display the screen including an icon or menuitem for activating the image sensor 110. In response to the request forselecting the stored image, the display unit 140 may display theoutput-mapping image corresponding to the sensing image information 153stored in the storage unit 150. At this time, the output-mapping imageoutputted to the display unit 140 may be the image acquired by adjustingthe scale of the sensing image stored in the storage unit 150 based onthe meta-information of the output-mapping image and the mappinginformation.

In the case that the terminal 100 supports a portability function, thedisplay unit 140 may be restricted in resolution to a predeterminedsize. The resolution of the display unit 140 of the terminal 100 isdetermined depending on the display size and hardware integrationtechnology. For example, the display unit 140 may support at least oneof the resolutions of 960×640, 1280×800, 800×480. The high resolutionsensing image captured by the image sensor 110 may be adjusted in scalefor being output to the display unit 140. For example, the sensing imagemay be displayed in the up-scaled format or down-scaled format.

The display unit 140 may be implemented in one of various types. Forexample, the display unit 140 may be one of Liquid Crystal Display (LCD)device, Active Matrix Organic Light Emitting Diodes (AMOLED) device,carbon-nanotube-based display device, and plasma panel display device.For example, the display unit 140 may be implemented in one of RGBWcolor filter type, RGBW AMOLED type, RGB LCD type, and RGB AMOLED type.

If the image sensor 110 is activated, the display unit 140 may output acontrol screen prompting to configure shooting conditions of the imagesensor 110. The display unit 140 may output the output-mapping imagegenerated by applying the first mapping information to the sensing imagecaptured by the image sensor 110. At this time, the first mappinginformation may be of converting the sensing image stored in the storageunit 150 to be fit for the Bayer pattern of the display unit. If anexternal display device is connected through the connection interface130, the display unit 140 may turns off automatically. The display unit140 may maintain the turn-on state or turns off independently of theconnection of the external display device according to the scheduleinformation or under the user control.

The storage unit 150 may store various data and programs associated withthe operations of the terminal 100. For example, the storage unit 150may store at least one Operating System (OS) for operation of theterminal 100. The storage unit 150 may include various programs forsupporting functions of the terminal 100, e.g. browser application,music player application, video playback application, broadcastreception function application, and black box function application,video chat application, and video call application. The storage unit 150may store the sensing image information 153 captured by the image sensor110. The storage unit 150 may store the mapping information 166 forgenerating output mapping information.

The image processing program 151 may include a storage routine, ageneration routine, and an output routine. These routines may be loadedonto the control unit 160 to operate as the components of pre-processor,mapper, and post-processor. The storage routine may include subroutinesfor storing the sensing image captured by the image sensor 110 as thesensing image information 153. The generation routine may includesubroutines for generating output-mapping images based on the storedsensing image information 153. The output routine may include thesubroutines for outputting the generated output-mapping image to theoutput device.

The storage routine may include the subroutine of capturing the sensingimage of a subject according to an input signal by means of the imagesensor 110 and the subroutine of storing the captured sensing image as araw image. The storage routing also may include the sub-routing ofcollecting the shooting condition information of the image sensor 110 incapturing the image as the meta-information and the subroutine ofstoring the meta-information and the sensing image in the form of thesensing image information 153. The shooting condition information mayinclude at least one of hardware characteristic information of the imagesensor 110, shooting brightness information, ISO information, zoominformation, flash setting information, image effect information,shutter speed information.

The generation routine may include the subroutine of checking themeta-information of the sensing image information 153 and the subroutineof checking the mapping information corresponding to the display devicecharacteristic of the output device, e.g. Bayer pattern information. Thecreation routine may include the subroutine of generating theoutput-mapping image from the sensing image based on themeta-information and the mapping information. The output-mapping imagegenerated in this way may be the image acquired by scaling the sensingimage depending on the display device of the output device, e.g.up-scaled or down-scaled image. The output-mapping image also may be theimage acquired by applying the brightness information, zoom information,and image effect information of the sensor information according to themeta-information.

The output routine may include the subroutine of checking the outputdevice for outputting the output-mapping image and the subroutine ofoutputting the corresponding output-mapping image to the checked outputdevice. For example, the output-mapping image may be output through thedisplay unit 140 according to the output routine. The output-mappingimage may be output to the external display device connected through theconnection interface 130 according to the output routine.

The image processing program 151 may further include a routine forgenerating and outputting the external output-mapping image to theexternal display device connected through the connection interface 130.For example, the image processing program 151 may include the displayunit output routine for outputting output-mapping image through thedisplay unit 140 and the external display device output routine foroutputting the external output-mapping image through the externaldisplay device. The external display device output routine may include asecond mapping information selection routine for generating the externaloutput-mapping image to be output to the external display device, aroutine of generating the external output-mapping image based on thesecond mapping information, and a routing of outputting the generatedexternal output-mapping image.

Sensing image information 153 may include the sensing image and themeta-information. The sensing image may be the image captured andprovided by the image sensor 110 (RGB/RGBW Raw Image). As describedabove, the meta-information may include at least one shooting conditionof the image sensor. A plurality of sensing image information 153 may bestored depending on the shooting.

The mapping information 166 is the information applied to the sensingimage information 153 stored in the storage unit 150 to generate theoutput-mapping image. In the case that the output-mapping imagetransmission to the external display device is not supported, themapping information 166 may include the information on only the displayunit 140. In the case that the output-mapping image transmission to theexternal device is supported, the mapping information 166 may includethe sensing image conversion information per display device. The mappinginformation 166 may be managed in a storage region of the control unit160 without being stored in the storage unit 150. For example, themapping information 166 may be included in the mapper of the controlunit 160 in the form of embedded information or middleware.

The terminal 100 includes the communication unit 170 having at least onecommunication module for supporting communication function. Thecommunication unit 170 may include a cellular communication module. Thecommunication unit 170 may be configured to support receiving mappinginformation. The mapping information may be the criteria for convertingthe sensing image to the output-mapping image. The mapping informationmay be updated according to various simulation results and statisticalresults. The communication unit 170 may establish a communicationchannel with a server providing the mapping information. The terminal100 may store the mapping information received by the communication unit170 in the storage unit 150. The mapping information is configured to bestored in the control unit 160, the mapping information stored in thecontrol unit 160 may be updated with new mapping information received bythe communication unit 170.

The communication unit 170 may search for the mapping informationoptimized to the device ID and/or Bayer pattern provided by the externaldisplay device. For this purpose, the communication unit 170 mayestablish a communication with the external server providing the mappinginformation automatically or in response to the user request. Thecommunication unit 170 may provide the external server with the deviceID and/or Bayer pattern information under the control of the controlunit 160. If the external server provides the device ID and/or the Bayerpattern information corresponding to the device, the communication unit170 receives this information and transfers it to the control unit 160.The control unit 160 searches for and applies the mapping informationoptimized to the external display device connected to the connectioninterface 130. The communication unit 170 also may establish acommunication channel for transmitting the sensing image information 153stored in the storage unit to another electronic device under thecontrol of the control unit 160. In the case that the terminal 100 doesnot support the communication function, the communication unit 170 maybe omitted.

The control unit 160 is capable of processing various data necessary foroperating the functions of the terminal 100 and signals, transferringcontrol signal, activating applications, and controlling the input unit120 and the display unit 140. Particularly, the control unit 160 maycontrol to store the sensing image for use in generating theoutput-mapping image based on the stored sensing image information. Thecontrol unit 160 may control to generate the output-mapping image basedon the sensing image information. The control unit 160 also may controloutputting the generated output-mapping image. For this purpose, thecontrol unit 160 is configured as shown in FIG. 2 or 6 according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating detailed configurations of acontrol unit and a storage unit of FIG. 1 according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a grid forexplaining image mapping operation of a mapper of the control unitaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 2, a control unit 160 according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure includes a pre-processor 161, a mapper 163, and apost-processor 165, but is not limited thereto. The control unit 160 mayfurther include an operator 167, a memory 169, and a bus 162.

The pre-processor 161 may control the image sensor 110. For example, thepre-processor 161 may control the image sensor according to an inputsignal associated with the image sensor 110 which is generated by one ofthe input unit 120 and the display unit 140. For example, thepre-processor 161 may control the focus adjustment of the image sensor110. The pre-processor 161 may control the brightness adjustment of theimage sensor 110. The pre-processor 161 may compensate the sensing imageprovided by the image sensor 110. For example, the pre-processor 161 maycontrol Lens Shading, Defect correction, Auto Exposure (AE), Auto WhiteBalance (AWB), and Auto Focusing (AF) operations. The pre-processor 161may pre-process the sensing image captured by the image sensor 110,store pre-processed image in the memory 169 temporarily, and transfersthe stored image to the storage unit 150 in response to an image capturerequest. At this time, the pre-processor 161 transfers the sensing imagewith the sensor Bayer pattern and the sensing image information 153including the meta-information corresponding the shooting conditioninformation of the image sensor to the storage unit 150. Here, thestorage unit 150 may be implemented with the flash memory. Here, theterm ‘sensor Bayer pattern’ denotes the physical pattern of the hardwareof the imaging device of the image sensor as an example of the sensorpattern or the RGB sensor pattern of the photo sensors.

If the sensing image information 153 stored in the storage unit 150 isselected, the mapper 163 may change the resolution of the sensing imageor perform pattern conversion according to digital zoom operation. Forthis purpose, the mapper 163 may converts the sensing image information153 stored in the form of a sensor Bayer pattern in the storage unit 150so as to be fit for the hardware characteristic of the display unit 140.For example, the mapper 163 may adjust the raw Bayer pattern of thesensing image to be fit for the Bayer pattern of the display unit inscale. At this time, the mapper 163 may adjust the Bayer pattern of thesensing image to be fit for the Bayer pattern of the display unit basedon the previously stored mapping information 166 and themeta-information included in the sensing image information 153.

The mapping information 166 may be stored in the storage unit 150 andreferenced afterward. The mapping information 166 also may be recordedin the mapper 163 and referenced afterward. The mapping information 166may include the information defining how to change the sensor Bayerpattern to the Bayer pattern of the display unit. The mappinginformation 166 also may include the information defining how to changethe sensor Bayer pattern to the Bayer pattern of the external displaydevice.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an information mapping operationaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 3, the mapping information 166 is capable of mapping 4pixels (when defining 4 sub-pixels as one pixel, 16 sub-pixels) of thesensor Bayer pattern 111 in which 4 sub-pixels are arranged like “RGGB”to one pixel of the Bayer pattern 141 of the display unit. Here, thedisplay unit Bayer pattern 141 is arranged in “RGBW” pattern of 4sub-pixels.

Here, the mapping information 166 exemplified in FIG. 3 may be theinformation defined for use in downscaling the resolution of the sensingimage to ¼. Here, various methods may be defined according to thesimulation result when converting the RGGB pattern corresponding to thesensor Bayer pattern 111 to the RGBW pattern corresponding to thedisplay unit Bayer pattern. The pixel in RGB type may be defineddifferently depending on the physical characteristics of the hardware.For example, if the physical characteristics of the hardware areexpressed with 8 bits for discriminating the color depths, eachsub-pixel in RGB type may have 256 possible colors. Accordingly, themapping information 166 may be the information for used in converting aplurality of sub-pixels colors of the sensor Bayer pattern 111 to onesub-pixel color of the display Bayer pattern 141.

For example, the mapping information 166 may define the average value ofthe color depths of “R” elements included in the 16 sub-pixels of thesensor Bayer pattern 111 with the color value of “R” sub-pixel of thedisplay unit Bayer pattern 141. Likewise, the mapping information 166may define the average value of the color depths of “B” elementsincluded in the 16 sub-pixels of the sensor Bayer pattern 111 with thecolor value of “B” sub-pixel of the display unit Bayer pattern 141.Likewise, the mapping information 166 may define the average value ofthe color depths of “G” elements included in the 16 sub-pixels of thesensor Bayer pattern 111 with the color value of “G” sub-pixel of thedisplay unit Bayer pattern 141. Also, the mapping information 166 maydefine the highest values of the color depths of “R,” “B,” and “G”elements included in the 16 sub-pixels of the sensor Bayer pattern 111with the color values of “R,” “B,” and “G” sub-pixels of the displayunit Bayer pattern 141.

The mapping information 166 may define a non-linear pattern conversion.For example, the mapping information 166 may define a rule of convertingthe pattern differently according to the characteristics by region ofthe captured image. For example, the mapping information 166 may definethe pattern conversion at a boundary area included in the sensing imageas the first type pattern conversion and the pattern conversion at thenon-boundary region having no color change as the second type patternconversion.

The first type pattern conversion may be a method for expressing theboundary region more clearly, e.g. applying high weight to the highvalue of color depth. The second type pattern conversion may be a methodfor expressing the color brightness at the non-boundary region moredistinctly by applying relatively high “white” weight.

As described above, the mapping information 166 of the presentdisclosure may defined at least one of various types in the procedure ofconverting the sensor Bayer pattern 111 to the display Bayer pattern141. Accordingly, the various embodiments of the present disclosure arenot restricted to the above-described mapping information definitionmethod. For example, since it may be changed variously depending on thehardware characteristics of the image sensor 110 and the display unit140, the mapping information 166 may be defined diversely depending onthe characteristics of the electronic device to which the presentdisclosure is applied and the simulation and statistical results.

Returning to FIG. 2, the post-processor 165 may process thepattern-adjusted image from the mapper 163 to generate theoutput-mapping image fit for the display unit 140. For example, thepost-processor 165 may update information on the quality of the image tobe output through the display unit 140 finally. For example, thepost-processor 165 may perform color image processing and displayprocessing. The color image processing may include noise reduction andcolor correction processes. The display processing may includeflip/rotate process, smooth/sharpness process, and crop process.

The operator 167 controls the operations of the pre-processor 161, themapper 163, and the post-processor 165 using various routines providedby the OS. In this procedure, the operator 167 may reference theschedule information of the various routines necessary for operating theimage sensor. The operator 167 may activate the image sensor 110according to the input signal input signal generated by the input unit120 and the display unit 140. The operator 167 may control such that thesensing image acquired by the image sensor 110 is provided to thepre-processor 161. The operator 167 may control the image sensor 110 viathe pre-processor 161 according to the schedule information.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the operator 167may control such that the sensing image provided by the image sensor 110is stored along with the shooting condition information of the imagesensor 110 as the sensing image information 153 in the storage unit 150under the control of the pre-processor 161. The operator 167 also maycontrol such that the sensing image is converted to the output-mappinginformation based on the mapping information 166 and themeta-information under the control of the mapper 163 in response to arequest for outputting the sensing image information 153 stored in thestorage unit 150. In the procedure, the operator 167 may control suchthat the sensor Bayer pattern is converted to the display Bayer patternaccording to the information recorded in the mapping information 166.The operator 167 also may control such that the pattern-converted imageprocessed with brightness adjustment, digital zoom-in/out adjustment,image effect adjustment, and the like.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the memory 169 isthe reason for loading data necessary for control operation of thecontroller 160. Here, memory 169 may be understood as a componentseparated from the storage unit 150 or a part of the storage unit 150.For example, if the storage unit 150 is implemented in the flash memorytype and provided in the form of a hard disc, the memory 169 may beprovided in the form of a Random Access Memory (RAM). The memory 169also provides the work space for loading the sensing image along withthe meta-information as sensing image information 153 in the procedureof storing and outputting sensing image according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure. The memory 169 also may provide the work spacefor converting the sensing image stored in the storage unit 150 to theoutput-mapping image based on the meta-information and the mappinginformation 166.

Although the memory 169 may be provided in the type of RAM or Cachememory in view of accessibility and speed, the present disclosure is notlimited thereto. The memory 169 stores the sensing image having thesensor Bayer pattern and may provide a region for storing theoutput-mapping image converted to have the display unit Bayer pattern.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the bus 162 may bea physical and/or logical component for exchanging data and controlsignal among the above-described components. In the present disclosure,the bus 164 carries the data in the procedure of storing the sensingimage captured by the image sensor 110 in the storage unit 150 via thememory 169. The bus 164 also may carry the control signal generated bythe mapper 163 for converting the sensing image stored in the storageunit 130 to the output-mapping image based on the mapping information166 and the meta-information. The bus 164 also may transfer the datafrom the storage unit 150 to the memory 169, mapper 163, and/orpost-processor 165. The bus 162 also may carry the output-mapping imagegenerated through post-processing to the display unit 140.

As described above, the electronic device of the present disclosure iscapable of storing the sensor Bayer-patterned sensing image captured bythe image sensor 110 in the storage unit 150 along with themeta-information. The electronic device is capable of converting thesensing image to the output-mapping image based on the mappinginformation and the meta-information, the mapping information beingpredefined to convert the sensor Bayer pattern to the display Bayerpattern in outputting the sensing image stored in the storage unit 150to the display unit 140. The present disclosure is capable of storingthe sensing image and displaying the search image withoutencoding/decoding process onto the sensing image.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating the procedure of the sensing image inthe image processing method of the electronic device according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 4, the control unit 160 of the electronic device, i.e.terminal 100, monitors to detect a scheduled event or an input eventmade through the input unit 120 or the input function-enabled displayunit 140. If an event is detected, the control unit 160 determineswhether the event is of triggering activation of the image sensor 110 atoperation 401. At this time, if the event does not relate to the imagesensor 110, the control unit 160 performs the function corresponding tothe event at operation 403. For example, the control unit 160 mayexecute a function according to the type and characteristics of theevent such as communication function, specific application function, andthe like.

If the event is of triggering the image sensor 110, the control unit 160powers on the image sensor 110. The control unit 160 initializes theimage sensor 110. Next, the control unit 160 determines whether an inputevent for capturing and image is detected in the image shooting mode atoperation 405. If no input event for image capture is detected, thecontrol unit 160 controls the terminal to operate in the preview mode atoperation 407.

If the input event for image capture, e.g. shutter press signal, isdetected, the control unit 160 controls to capture the sensing image andcollect meta-information associated with the sensor at operation 409. Ifthe shutter press signal is detected, the image sensor captures thesensing image of a subject and provides the control unit 160 with theraw image. The control unit 160 may collect the shooting conditioninformation of the image sensor as the meta-information at the time whenthe corresponding sensing image is captured. The control unit 160 alsocontrols to store the sensing image and the sensing image informationincluding the meta-information in the storage unit 150.

Next, the control unit 160 determines whether an event for terminatingthe function is detected at operation 411. If the function terminationevent is detected, the control unit 160 ends the function related to theimage sensor 110. At this time, the control unit 160 power of the imagesensor 110 and controls the display unit to display a predeterminedscreen, e.g. standby screen. Otherwise if no function termination eventis detected, the control unit 160 returns the procedure to operation405.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating the sensing image output procedure ofthe image processing method of the electronic device according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 5, the control unit 160 monitors to detect an eventand, if an event is detected, determines whether the event is a storedimage selection event at operation 501. For example, the control unit160 may determines whether an event for selecting the sensing imageinformation 153 stored in the storage unit 150. The event for selectingthe sensing image information 153 stored in the storage unit 150 mayoccur automatically when a specific image is shot or stored. A selectioninput of searching for a plurality of sensing image information storedin the storage unit 150 may be made by means of the input unit 120 orthe input function-enabled display unit 140. If the event is not thestored image selection event, the control unit performs a functioncorresponding to the event at operation 503. For example, if the eventis a specific file playback request event, the control unit 160 controlsto play the corresponding file.

If the event is the stored image selection event, the control unit 160checks the mapping information and meta-information at operation 505.For this purpose, the control unit 160 may select the mappinginformation predefined to output the sensing image to the display unit140. The control unit 160 may check the meta-information included in thesensing image information 153. The control unit 160 may generate theoutput-mapping image based on the meta-information and the mappinginformation. For example, the control unit 160 may apply the scale ofthe sensing image which is fit for the display unit Bayer pattern basedon the mapping information. The control unit 160 may apply the imageeffect to the sensing image or perform image compensation based on themeta-information.

If the output-mapping image is generated, the control unit 160 controlsto output the generated output-mapping image to the display unit 140 atoperation 509. In the procedure, the control unit 160 may furtherperforming the post-processing on the output-mapping image generatedbased on the meta-information and the mapping information.

Next, the control unit 160 determines whether a function terminationevent is detected at operation 511. If the function termination event isdetected, the control unit 160 ends the stored image search function andcontrols switching to the function scheduled according to the scheduleinformation. If an input signal for turn-off of the terminal 100, thecontrol unit 160 controls the terminal 100 to power off Otherwise if nofunction termination even is detected, the control unit 160 returns theprocedure to operation 505. If a new stored image selection event isdetected, the control unit 160 controls to collect meta-information ofthe selected image and the mapping information for applying the displayunit Bayer pattern. The control unit 160 generates new output-mappingimage based on the collected information and controls to display theoutput mapping image.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a part of the configuration of aterminal, particularly a configuration of a control unit according to anembodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 7 is a block diagramillustrating a detailed data structure of a composite image stored in astorage unit of FIG. 6 according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

Referring to FIG. 6, a control unit 160 according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure includes a control unit 160, a pre-processor 161,a mapper 163, a post-processor 165, an operator 167, an ISP 164, and acompressor 168, but is not limited thereto.

The above-configured control unit 160 is capable of processing thesensing image captured by the image sensor 110 in two ways. As shown inFIG. 7, the composite image 155 processed by the control unit 160 andstored in the storage unit 150 is comprised of a header 51, a first typeimage 53, and a second type image 55.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the header 51 mayinclude the first property information related to the first type image53 and the second property information defining the data property of thesecond type image 55. For example, the first property informationcontained in the header 51 may include the type of the mappinginformation applied for generating the first type image 53, resolutionof the first type image 53, and target Bayer pattern information of thefirst type image. The second property information contained in theheader 51 may be the information defining the data property of thesecond type image 55. For example, the second property information mayinclude compression rate of the second type image 55, data structure ofthe structure of the second type image 55, and extension.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the first typeimage 53 may be the image generated as a result of the operation of thepre-processor 161 and the mapper 163. For example, the first type image53 may be the output-mapping image acquired by processing the sensingimage of the sensor Bayer pattern to be fit for the display unit Bayerpattern based on the predefined mapping information. The first typeimage 53 may be the image generated to be output through the displayunit 140 having the resolution lower than that of the sensing image. Forexample, when the sensing image has 13 MP resolution, the first typeimage 53 may be processed to have with 4 MP resolution fit for thedisplay unit 140.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the second typeimage 55 may be the data generated as a result of the operations of thepre-processor 161, the ISP 164, and the compressor 168. The second typeimage 55 may be the image acquired by extracting the optical propertiesfrom the image provided by the image sensor 110 and encoding andcompressing the image based on the extracted optical properties. Forexample, if the image sensor 110 provides RGB type image, the secondtype image 55 may be an YCbCr type image which is encoded by an encoderof the terminal 100 and compressed so as to be stored as compresseddata.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the pre-processor161 may support the above-described preprocessing function. Thepreprocessor 161 depicted in FIG. 6 may transfer the sensing imagereceived from the image sensor 110 to the mapper 163 and the ISP 164simultaneously.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the mapper 163generates the output-mapping image corresponding to the first type image53 based on the mapping information 166 which defines the conversion ofthe sensing image provided by the pre-processor 161 to be fit for thedisplay Bayer pattern. The output-mapping image generated by the mapper163 may be the image generated based on the sensing image captured bythe image sensor 110. If the output-mapping image is generated, themapper 163 may store the corresponding image as the first type image 53in the storage unit 150.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the ISP 164performs various image processing operations on the sensing imageprovided by the image sensor 110. The ISP 164 may perform various imageprocessing operations including black level adjustment, noise reduction,white balance, color filter array interpolation, color correction, andgamma correction. Particularly, the ISP 164 may convert RGB format toYUV format. The ISP 164 may provide the sensing image converted in imageformat to the compressor 168.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the compressor 168may compresses the format-converted image provided by the ISP 164 suinga predefined algorithm. For example, the compressor 168 compresses theformat-converted image to generate a format-converted compressed imagesuch as JPEG and transfers the result image as the second type image 55to the storage unit 150.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the operator 167may generate the composite image 155 by combining the first type image53 corresponding to the output-mapping image and the second type image55 corresponding to the format-converted compressed image. At this time,the operator 167 may include the first property information of the firsttype image 53 and the second property information of the second typeimage 55 in the header 51. The operator 167 may control such that thecomposite image comprised of the header 51, the first type image 53, andthe second type image 55 is stored at a predetermined region of thestorage unit 150.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the memory 169 mayprovide a data loading space necessary for data write/read of theabove-described components and signal processing. For example, thememory 169 may store the data pre-processed by the pre-processor 161temporarily before transfer to the mapper 163 and the ISP 164. Thememory 169 may store the first and second type images 53 and 55 and theheader 51 generated by the operator 167 temporarily. The memory 169 maystore the first type image 53 temporarily in the process of outputtingthe composite image 155 from the storage unit 150. The memory 169 alsomay store a part of the composite image 155 temporarily in the processof transmitting the composite image 155 to another terminal.

If an event for selecting the composite image 155 stored in the storageunit 150 occurs, the control unit 160 may retrieve only the first typeimage 53 included in the composite image 155. The control unit 160 maycontrol the post-processor 165 to perform post-processing on the firsttype image 53. The control unit 160 also may control such that thepost-processed first type image 53 is displayed on the display unit 140.The first type image 53 may be the image generated by mapping the sensorBayer pattern to the display unit Bayer pattern based on the mappinginformation collected at its creation. Accordingly, the control unit 160may control such that the first type image 53 is displayed on thedisplay unit 140 without applying any extra mapping information.

It may be requested to transmit the composite image 155 to anotherterminal. In this case, the control unit 160 may control to delete thefirst type image 53 and the first property information correspondingthereto depending on the property of the other terminal and transmit thecorrected composite image to the other terminal. For example, if theproperty of the display device of the other terminal differs from thatof the display device of the terminal 100, the first type image 53 maynot be processed correctly at the other terminal. In this case, thecontrol unit 160 may transmit the composite image from which the firsttype image 53 has been deleted.

If the display device properties of the two terminals match, the controlunit 160 may control such that the composite image 155 is transmittedimmediately. For example, it is requested to transmit the compositeimage 155 to another terminal identical with the terminal 100 in model,the control unit 160 may control such that the composite image 155 istransmitted without any correction. For this purpose, the control unit160 may receive the information on the property of the display device ofthe other terminal and check whether the display device properties ofthe two terminals match each other. The control unit 160 also mayreceive the model information of the other terminal to determine whetherthe models of the two terminals match each other.

The terminal 100 may have the mapping information for supporting thedisplay device of the other terminal. In this case, the control unit 160may retrieve the mapping information corresponding to the display deviceproperty of the other terminal. The control unit 160 may convert thefirst type image 53 to a mapping image for transmission based on themapping information corresponding to the other terminal. The controlunit 160 also may control such that the composite image 155 in which thefirst type image 53 has been replaced by the mapping image fortransmission is transmitted to the other terminal.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of storing the compositeimage in the image processing method of the electronic device accordingto an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 8, the control unit 160 monitors to detect an eventand, if an event is detected, determines whether the event is a requestfor activation of the image sensor 110 at operation 801. If the event isnot the request for activation of the image sensor 110, the control unit160 performs a function corresponding to the detected event at operation803. If the event is the request for activation of the image sensor 110,the control unit 160 powers on and initializes the image sensor 110.

The control unit 160 continues monitoring after the initialization ofthe image sensor 110 and, if another event is detected, determineswhether the event is a request for image capture at operation 805. Ifthe event is not the image capture event, the control unit 160 controlsthe image sensor 110 to operate as predetermined, e.g. in preview mode,at operation 807. The control unit 160 may control such that theterminal operates in the preview mode while waiting for the imagecapture event.

If the image capture event is detected at operation 805, the controlunit 160 generates the first type image 53 and the second type image 55at operation 809. At this time, the control unit 160 may generates thefirst type image 53 from the sensing image provided by the image sensor110 based on the predefined mapping information. For example, the firsttype image 53 may be the image acquired by adjusting RGB type sensingimage in scale. The second type image 55 may be the image acquired byprocessing the sensing image provided by the image sensor 110 andencoding and compressing the processed image. For example, if thesensing image is RGB type, the second type image 55 may be YUV type.

Next, the control unit 160 controls such that the first and second typeimages 53 and 55 are combined along with the header 51 so as to bestored as the composite image 155 at operation 811. Here, the header 51may include the Bayer pattern information of the first type image 53 andthe encoding and compression information of the second type image 55.The control unit 160 may detect the input signal for terminating thefunction at operation 813. If no input signal for terminating thefunction is detected, the control unit 160 returns the procedure tooperation 805.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a composite image output procedure ofthe image processing method of the electronic device according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 9, the control unit 160 monitors to detect an inputevent and, if an input event is detected, determines whether the inputevent is a request for selecting a stored image at operation 901. If theinput event is not the stored image selection request, the control unit160 performs a function corresponding to the detected event at operation903.

If the input event is the request for selecting the stored image atoperation 901, the control unit 160 retrieves the first type image 53 tobe output to the display unit 140 at operation 905. For this purpose,the control unit 160 may check the composite image 155 stored in thestorage image 150, the composite image designated by the input event.The control unit 160 also may control such that the first type image 53of the composite image 155 is stored in the memory 167 temporarily.

The control unit 160 may control such that the first type image 53stored in the memory 169 is displayed on the display unit 140 as theoutput-mapping image. At this time, the control unit 160 may controlsuch that the post-processing is performed on the first type image 53optionally depending on the scheduled information. Next, the controlunit 160 continues monitoring to detect an input event for terminatingthe function at operation 909. If the function termination event isdetected, the control unit 160 controls display unit 140 to display ascreen according to the scheduled information instead of the screendisplay for selecting stored image. The control unit 160 also maycontrol such that the terminal 100 enters the sleep mode according tothe input event property.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating the electronic device control methodaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Particularly, thefollowing description is directed to the procedure of storing andoutputting the sensing image to an external display device.

Referring to FIG. 10, the control unit 160 monitors to detect an inputevent and, if an input event is detected, determines whether the inputevent is a request for selecting a stored image at operation 1001. Ifthe input event is not the stored image selection request, the controlunit 160 performs a function corresponding to the detected event atoperation 1003. For example, the control unit 160 may execute a pictureedit function, a background change function, a file playback function,or a communication function.

If the input event is the request for selecting the stored image atoperation 1001, the control unit 160 continues monitoring to detect aninput event and, if an input event is detected, determines whether theinput event is a request for selecting an external display device atoperation 1005. For this purpose, the control unit 160 may check theconnection interface 130 to determine whether an external display deviceis connected. When the stored image selection request is detected, thecontrol unit 160 may control the display unit 140 to display an externaldisplay device list. If no external display device selection event isdetected, the control unit 160 may control the display unit 140 todisplay the output mapping image at operation 1007.

In the case that the control unit 160 is configured as shown in FIG. 2,it may generates the output mapping image by processing the sensingimage stored in the storage unit 150 based on the mapping informationand meta-information. The control unit 160 may control the display unit140 to display the output-mapping image. In the case that the controlunit 160 is configured as shown in FIG. 6, it may extract the first typeimage 53 from the composite image 155 stored in the storage unit 150.The control unit 160 may control the display unit 140 to display theextracted first type image 53.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, if an externaldisplay selection event is detected or if it is configured that anexternal display device connected to the connection interface 130selected as default, the control unit 160 may select the mappinginformation corresponding to the external display device at operation1009. For this purpose, the control unit 160 may collect, when theexternal display device is connected or the stored image output isrequested, at least one of the property information and modelinformation of the external display device. The control unit 160 mayextract the mapping information corresponding to the external displaydevice. For this purpose, the mapping information may be stored byexternal device identity information or by external display devicemodel. Here, the mapping information may include the mapping algorithmfor generating the external output-mapping image optimized to thehardware property of the display unit 140 or the external display devicefrom the sensing image.

Next, the control unit 160 generates the external output-mapping imagebased on the extracted mapping information and the meta-information atoperation 1011. Here, the meta-information may include the shootingcondition information collected in the procedure of storing the sensingimage. If the external output-mapping image is generated, the controlunit 160 controls such that the external output-mapping image is outputthrough the connection interface 130 at operation 1013. The control unit160 monitors to detect and input event and, if an input event isdetected, determines whether the input event is a request forterminating the function at operation 1015. If no input event isdetected, the control unit 160 returns the procedure to operation 1005.

According to an embodiment, the above-described electronic devicecontrol method is directed to the case where the captured sensing imageis stored in the storage unit 150. In the case that the composite image155 is stored in the storage unit 150, the control unit 160 may controlsuch that a corrected composite image from which the first type image 53is deleted is output to the external display device as described withreference to FIG. 6. The control unit 160 also may convert the firsttype image 53 to a format of the mapping image for transmission to befit for the external display device. The control unit 160 also maycontrol such that the composite image including the mapping informationfor transmission is output to the external display device.

As described above, the method and electronic device for processingimage according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is capable ofstoring the sensing image acquired by the image sensor 110 through asimplified processing procedure. The method and electronic device forprocessing image according to an embodiment of the present disclosure isalso capable of outputting the sensing image stored in the storage unit150 through the simplified processing procedure to the display unit 140or the external display device. The image processing method andapparatus of the present disclosure is capable of simplifying thehardware device for processing the sensing image and securing physicalspace for other purpose. Also, the image processing method and apparatusof the present disclosure is capable of reducing the sensing imageprocessing load, resulting in improvement of operation efficiency of theelectronic device.

The Bayer pattern of the image acquired by the image sensor 110 of thepresent disclosure is not limited to the above-described RGB/RGBW. Forexample, the Bayer pattern may be determined among various typesdepending on the design purpose and type.

The image sensor 110 process the subject image by itself to generate theoutput-mapping image to the control unit 160. In order to achieve this,the image sensor 110 may include an image processing module forprocessing images. For example, the above described pre-processor 161,mapper 163, and post-processor 165 of the control unit 160 may beincluded as components of the image sensor. In this case, the imagesensor 110 should be understood as an integrated module including theaforementioned components. The mapper 163 of the above-configured imagesensor 110 may be implemented in an embedded type or a middleware type.The image sensor 110 may generate the output-mapping image based on thecorresponding mapping information and transmit the output-mapping imageto the control unit 160. At this time, the control unit 160 may controlsuch that the output-mapping image provided by the image sensor 110 isoutput to the display unit 140 without extra process.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the terminal 100may further include various function modules. For example, the terminal100 may further include an interface for data transmission in wired orwireless communication mode, an Internet communication module forsupporting Internet access, and other components. Although it isdifficult to enumerate all of the functional components that may beconverged in various manners according to the trend of digitalconvergence, the terminal may be implemented with or without at leastone of aforementioned functional components and their equivalentdevices. In the present disclosure, the terminal 100 may be implementedwithout certain components or with any replaced components. This willeasily be understood to those skilled in the art.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, examples of theterminal 100 may include all the types of cellular communicationterminals operating on various communication protocols, PortableMultimedia Player (PMP), digital broadcast player, Personal DigitalAssistant (PDA), music player (e.g. MP3 player), portable game console,smartphone, laptop computer, and handheld computer.

As described above, the electronic device and method for operating theelectronic device according to the present disclosure is advantageous inprocessing the collected images so as to store and output the imagesmore efficiently.

While the present disclosure has been shown and described with referenceto various embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilledin the art that various changes in form and details may be made thereinwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure asdefined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for operating an electronic device, themethod comprising: receiving a sensing image having a sensor pattern ofan image sensor and meta-information including sensing image informationrelated to the sensing image; and storing the sensing image and thesensing image information including the meta-information.
 2. The methodof claim 1, wherein the meta-information comprises at least one ofhardware property information of the image sensor, brightnessinformation in image shooting, International Organization forStandardization (ISO) information, zoom information, flash settinginformation, image effect setting information, and shutter speedinformation.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the storing of thesensing image comprises storing the sensing image of a Red, Green, Blue(RGB) or Red, Green, Blue, White (RGBW) type sensor pattern.
 4. Themethod of claim 1, further comprises: receiving an input event forshooting the sensing image of the image sensor; generating a first typeimage to be output to a display unit based on mapping information whichmaps the sensor pattern of the image sensor to a sensor pattern of thedisplay unit and a second type image different in format from the sensorpattern of the image sensor; and storing a composite image including aheader containing property information defining the first and secondtype images, the first type image, and the second time image.
 5. Themethod of claim 4, wherein the generating of the first type imagecomprises: generating an output-mapping image having same Red, Green,Blue (RGB) pattern obtained by down-scaling the sensor pattern.
 6. Themethod of claim 4, further comprising: receiving an input event forselecting the stored composite image; extracting the first type imagefrom the composite image; and outputting the first type image throughthe display unit.
 7. The method of claim 4, wherein the generating ofthe second type image comprises: generating YUV type image obtained byperforming image signal processing on the sensing image and compressingthe processed image.
 8. A method for operating an electronic device, themethod comprising: receiving an event for selecting a sensing imagehaving a sensor pattern of an image sensor and for selecting a sensorinformation image including meta-information which has informationrelated to the sensing image; generating an output-mapping image basedon the meta-information and a mapping information including informationfor mapping the sensor pattern of the image sensor to a pattern of thedisplay unit according to the selection event; and displaying thegenerated output-mapping image on the display unit.
 9. The method ofclaim 8, wherein the generating of the output-mapping image comprisesmapping the sensor pattern of the image sensor to a pattern of an outputdevice by adjusting scale.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein themapping of the sensor pattern comprises down-scaling the sensing image.11. The method of claim 9, wherein the mapping of the sensor patterncomprises mapping an average value of color depths of a plurality ofsub-pixels included in the sensor pattern of the image sensor to a colorvalue of a sub-pixel of the output device.
 12. The method of claim 9,wherein the mapping of the sensor pattern comprises a color valuegreatest among a plurality of sub-pixels included in the sensor patternof the image sensor to a color value of a sub-pixel of the outputdevice.
 13. The method of claim 9, wherein the mapping of the sensorpattern comprises applying a mapping scheme differently depending onproperty per region of the sensing image.
 14. The method of claim 13,wherein the mapping of the sensor pattern comprises applying differentdown-scale schemes to a boundary region and non-boundary region includedin the sensing image.
 15. An electronic device comprising: an imagesensor configured to capture a sensing image; at least one of an inputunit and a display unit configured to generate an input event forcapturing the sensing image; a control unit configured to store a firsttype image having a format identical with that of a sensor pattern ofthe image sensor and a second type image having a format different fromthat of the sensor pattern of the image sensor; and a storage configuredto store a composite image including a header containing propertyinformation defining the first and second type images, the first typeimage, and the second type image.
 16. The electronic device of claim 15,the control unit controls, when a composite image selection event isdetected, the display unit to display the first type image.
 17. Theelectronic device of claim 16, wherein the control unit controlsdown-scaling the sensing image to generate the first type image.
 18. Theelectronic device of claim 15, further comprising: a connectioninterface configured to connect to an external display device, whereinthe control unit checks device property information of the externaldisplay device.
 19. The electronic device of claim 18, wherein thecontrol unit controls, when the external display device differs from thedisplay unit in device property, to transmit the composite image fromwhich the first type image is deleted to the external display deviceand, when the external display device is identical with the display unitin device property, to transmit the composite image.
 20. The electronicdevice of claim 18, wherein the control unit controls converting, whenthe external display device differs from the display unit in deviceproperty, the first type image to a new image based on the mappinginformation defined for conversion to Bayer pattern property of theexternal device, replacing the first type image of the composite imagewith the converted image, and transmitting the composite image to theexternal display device.
 21. The electronic device of claim 15, whereinthe control unit controls converting a first type pattern conversion byapplying high weight to the high value of a color depth, and a secondtype pattern conversion by expressing a color brightness at anon-boundary region by distinctly applying a relatively high “white”weight.